


Interested

by autumnyte



Category: Saints Row
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon LGBTQ Character, Drinking, M/M, Multi, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 06:24:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1594841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnyte/pseuds/autumnyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A glimpse at an AU where Pierce became the Boss and <a href="http://pierceaholic.tumblr.com/tagged/boss+alair+cabrera">Alair Cabrera</a> was a lieutenant with a long-time crush. Starts during the events of SR2 and continues to SRTT. Contains spoilers for both games. </p><p>The idea for this AU was courtesy of silveranadalus on tumblr. Their prompt: "What about some Pierce/Carlos, Pierce/Alair for a Pierce is the Boss verse?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interested

Alair's stomach lurched. He knew he shouldn't look, but he couldn't tear his gaze away.

He watched as the Boss smiled and whispered something in Carlos's ear. Carlos laughed and whispered something in reply, then the Boss grabbed his hand, led him into Purgatory's back office, and shut the door behind them.

Shaundi flopped on the couch beside Alair, a beer in her hand. "Aw. Don't look so sad. It's like someone shot your puppy."

He grabbed the bottle from her and took a swig.

Shaundi rested her head against his shoulder. "Look on the bright side. Maybe they'll let you Guest Star some time."

"Fuck you," Alair said, passing the beer back to her, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the couch.

"Damn, you're crushing way worse than I thought. I don't get it. You been flirting around with Carlos for weeks. How come you never tried to seal the deal? Ohhh. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Holy shit. How did I miss this? You got a thing for the Boss! Don't you?"

"Shhh. Keep that shit down. I swear to god, if you say a fucking word-"

"I won't. I won't. It's cool." She handed him back the beer. "I mean, it's not _cool_. Watching the two people you're crushing on hook up with each other instead of you has to really suck."

"Así es." Alair polished off the rest and threw the bottle, smashing it against the wall.

Shaundi placed a hand on his thigh and squeezed. "Hmm… you wanna come back to my place and mess around? I bet I could cheer you up."

"I don't doubt it." He mustered a half-smile. "But, nah. Pity sex would make me feel like even more of a loser."

"It's just a friend helping out a friend. It wouldn't have to be like that-"

"Thanks." He patted Shaundi's hand. "But I got exactly two friends in the entire world right now-you and Gat. I don't want to risk turning into just... some dude you fucked."

A loud moan of pleasure carried through the office door, followed by another.

"Alright. Let's just get the fuck out of here, then." Shaundi stood, extending her hand to Alair. "How 'bout we smoke a bowl and hit the arcade? Your Skee Ball game needs some serious work."

Alair swallowed thickly, trying not to think about what was happening behind that door. He took Shaundi's hand. "Deal."

***

"Jesus, did I seriously just tell the Boss he'd look hot in a Speedo?" Alair asked Shaundi as they left the pub.

"Uh, yeah, you did." Shaundi rolled her eyes. "And then, I swear to God, the two of you smiled at each other for five whole minutes."

"Does it seem to you like he just keeps getting sexier? Maybe there's something in the Saints Flow," Alair said, his voice dropping to a whisper as a fan stopped them both for an autograph and photo.

"Or maybe you just keep falling for him harder," She answered quietly, through a smile for the camera. "Which is kind of amazing, given how many years it's been."

The fan shook both their hands and skipped away.

Alair shrugged. "I've tried to stop."

"Well, instead of trying to stop, why don't you try dragging him back to the Penthouse and fucking each other's brains out?"

"Uh, maybe because he's clearly not interested? You know the Boss gets whatever he wants. If he wanted me, he'd have said so." He unlocked his purple Raycaster and held open the passenger door for Shaundi. "You going home, or to meet Aisha at the studio?"

"Home. Not meeting up with Eesh until later." She let the conversation drop for a few minutes before asking, "You ever think about just telling him how you feel?"

"Telling him how I feel?" Alair's features twisted into a sour expression. "That shit makes me feel like I'm in junior high. How does a conversation like that even go? Maybe I can pass him a note that says, 'I like you. Do you like me? Check yes or no'."

"At this point, anything would be better than watching you moon over him." Shaundi adjusted the side mirror to reapply her lip gloss.

"Ooh, maybe if he says 'yes', we can go on a double date with you and Josh!"

"Okay, seriously? Fuck you for even mentioning Josh Birk and the word "date" in the same sentence."

"You're right. That was a low blow." As he slowed to a stop in front of Shaundi's apartment, his cell phone rang. 'Pierce Washington' flashed across the caller ID. "Hey, Boss."

"Hey, Cabrera. Can you swing by the crib later? I, uh… want to talk to you about something."

"Sure. You want me to bring Shaundi, too?"

"Nah, man. Just you." Click.

"What's up?" Shaundi asked, her hand on the door handle.

"That was strange. The Boss just asked me to stop by… alone."

"Okay, that's got to be a booty call _._ Thank God _. Finally_." She smiled, and Alair realized it was the first time he'd seen a genuine smile from her in a while.

He grinned back, reflexively. "I doubt it. The last time he asked me to come over alone, I ended up babysitting Angel's tiger. Before that, I had to monitor a 9-hour chess match between him and Oleg. I almost hope it's that. If he's trying on spandex outfits for Murderbrawl, I don't think I'll be able to take it."

Shaundi kissed his cheek before opening the door. "Whatever happens, text me later."

******

Alair stepped off the elevator into the Penthouse. It was eerily quiet. No Saints, no dancers, nobody in sight. "Boss?" he called out, getting his pistol ready, just in case.

"In here!" Pierce replied.

He holstered his gun and followed the voice into the kitchen, where he found Pierce standing in front of an open fridge, holding up a can of Saints Flow.

"Hey, man. You want one?"

"Nah. I don't drink that shit."

"I _know_ you didn't just call the energy drink I invented 'shit'," Pierce said, popping the can open. "Anyway, you're the damned spokesperson for it."

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just-"

"You prefer coffee. I'm just messing with you." Pierce smiled and gestured to the percolator in the corner. "I made you some."

Something fluttered in Alair's chest, and it wasn't anticipation of a caffeine fix. He sucked in a breath and walked over to pour himself a cup. "Thanks, Boss."

"No problem," Pierce said, and took a long, slow sip of Saints Flow.

Alair watched him drink, mesmerized, not paying sufficient attention to his own coffee pouring. As a result, he accidentally spilled scalding coffee all over his hand. "Fuck! Ow. _Motherfucker_!"

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I just… maybe burned my hand. A little."

"Damn." Pierce guided him over to the sink, and turned on a stream of cool water. "There. Run it under that for a few minutes."

Alair's cheeks flushed, but he did as instructed.

"Now, I'm just saying--if you drank Saints Flow instead, that shit would not have happened." Pierce placed a hand on his shoulder.

He chuckled, trying to shake off his humiliation. "Point taken. Anyway… I'm sure you called me up for a reason. What'd ya need?"

Pierce hopped up on the counter next to the sink so they were facing each other. "Nothing special. I, uh… was hoping maybe we could talk."

"Okaay. Yeah." He raised an eyebrow and looked at the Boss, then looked back at the cool water running over his hand. This _couldn't_ be what he thought it was. No way. Not after all this time. "What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking about some things. Like how, back in Stilwater, you and I were never tight. That was my bad, though." Pierce paused. "I knew you were pissed about me and Carlos, and then, after what happened-"

"Hold up-what do you mean I was pissed about you and Carlos?"

"You had a major thing for Carlos."

"That's what you thought?"

"It's what I knew. Shit. You couldn't stand to watch us together for one minute. Kept looking away or leaving the room every time we touched each other."

"Boss-"

"Let me finish. When Carlos… after he died, I figured you probably blamed me for it. Hell, I blamed myself. And I guess… without meaning to, I kept my distance from you." Pierce sighed and looked up. "I'm sorry about that." 

Alair regarded those familiar brown eyes and wondered how someone as brilliant as Pierce could've been so off-base. "Boss-"

"Still not finished." Pierce took a sip of Saints Flow and kept going. "Even with me keeping you at arm's length, giving you a hard time, you always had my back. And then when we crash-landed in Steelport, you got down to business right away. You were the only one on the crew thinking straight for a while there. We couldn't have taken down the Morningstar or the Deckers without you. The Saints about to own this whole city, and I owe a whole lot of that to you. I wanted to tell you that. I feel like we've gotten pretty tight the past year. Not only are you my second now, you're like… one of my closest friends."

Alair cringed and turned off the water. There it was. _Friends_.

Pierce frowned at his reaction. "Or am I wrong?"

"Nope... we're friends. Because that's what you want."

"Huh? The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Pierce slid off the counter and took a step closer.

"You sure you want me to go there?" He could hear his own heart pounding, but he couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth.

Pierce stood directly in front of him. "You better go there. 'Cause I got no idea what the fuck you talking about and it's starting to piss me off."

"You were wrong about me and Carlos. I never blamed you for the shit that went down. And I never had a serious thing for Carlos, not like that. Sure, I liked him well enough. He was a nice kid and fun to flirt with, and yeah, at one point I considered making a move. But I lost interest pretty quick… when I fell for someone else."

"What? Then why the fuck did you act like a huge asshole every time you were around us?"

"You still don't get it." Alair closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, gazing hopelessly into Pierce's face. "Because it was _you_ , pendejo. You were the one I wanted. Ever since that day I watched you lay down the plan to infiltrate Poseidon's Palace, when anyone else would have just shot their way through the fucking Ronin. You did everything smarter, better. I've never met anyone like you. And yeah, I'm grateful we're friends now, don't misunderstand me. But you should know that I still wa-"

His words were cut off by Pierce's mouth covering his own. It was a hot, rough kiss, and it took Alair only a few seconds to recover from his surprise and return it with equal enthusiasm. He wrapped his arms around Pierce's neck and slipped his tongue inside Pierce's mouth. He'd never have imagined any context in which Saints Flow could taste that perfect.

Pierce gripped Alair's hips, pressing their bodies together, and pushed him back against the counter. Alair let out a muffled groan at the sensation of Pierce's body grinding against his own. Their lips parted for a moment, both of them breathless.

"I'm a goddamn idiot," Pierce whispered, resting his forehead against Alair's. "You don't even know. I wanted to do that for a long fucking time."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Alair murmured, pressing a kiss against the side of Pierce's neck.

Pierce reached down and began unbuttoning Alair's shirt. "I wasn't sure you were interested."

"Well, I'm interested." Alair tugged Pierce closer and kissed him again, just as fiercely as before. Pierce started to unbuckle his belt, then hesitated. Alair slowly pulled back. "You stopped. You okay?"

"Yeah. I just… really don't want to fuck this up. We moving too fast?"

"No. Shit. Maybe?" Alair laughed. "It doesn't feel fast to me. It's been years, Boss. _Years_."

Pierce smiled and wrapped his arms around Alair's waist. "How about you call me 'Pierce'?"

"Pierce," Alair said slowly, enjoying the sound of that name on his lips. "What if we move this to the bedroom, and then we can take it as slow or fast as you want?"

"Alright." He nodded. "Hmm. You still gonna make me call you 'Cabrera'?"

Alair leaned in and whispered. "You get these clothes the rest of the way off me and you can call me whatever the fuck you want."

******

At 4:00 am the following morning, Shaundi's cell dinged. She opened her eyes and reached over to the bedside table, grabbing the phone and squinting to read the text. It was from Alair.

'OMG u called it he totally likes me back! meet at the bleachers during recess for deets? still hoping to double with u & JB! ;)'

 _That jackass_. Shaundi chuckled and put the phone back down. _Good for him._


End file.
